Dagong Rating Agency: "The US Has Already Defaulted"

The soundbite of the day comes from AFP which quotes the infamous Chinese Rating Agency Dagong, known for being a little too truthy, which told state media Global Times what everyone already knows but is afraid to say out loud: "'In our opinion, the United States has already been defaulting....Washington had already defaulted on its loans by allowing the dollar to weaken against other currencies - eroding the wealth of creditors including China, Mr Guan said." Oddly enough, this contradict Tim Geithner's heartfelt appeal that the US is pursuing a strong dollar policy. The Dagong announcement follows on the heels of various reports from earlier this weeks (most notably the SAFE announcement which was subsequently pulled) which are urging China to not only pull its US holdings, but to minimize its USD exposure in total. Now if only Moody's would opine on the stealth 1.5 TARP Chinese bailout we noted earlier this week, then the full out credit rating cold war would be on like Donkey Kong.

A CHINESE ratings house has accused the United States of defaulting on its massive debt, state media said on Friday, a day after Beijing urged Washington to put its fiscal house in order.

'In our opinion, the United States has already been defaulting,' Guan Jianzhong, president of Dagong Global Credit Rating Co Ltd, the only Chinese agency that gives sovereign ratings, was quoted by the Global Times saying.

Washington had already defaulted on its loans by allowing the dollar to weaken against other currencies - eroding the wealth of creditors including China, Mr Guan said.

Mr Guan did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment. The US government will run out of room to spend more on August 2 unless Congress bumps up the borrowing limit beyond US$14.29 trillion (S$17.57 trillion) - but Republicans are refusing to support such a move until a deficit cutting deal is reached.

Ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday joined Moody's and Standard & Poor's to warn the United States could lose its first-class credit rating if it fails to raise its debt ceiling to avoid defaulting on loans.

A downgrade could sharply raise US borrowing costs, worsening the country's already dire fiscal position, and send shock waves through the financial world, which has long considered US debt a benchmark among safe-haven investments